Organ donor decision can 'bring comfort'

Organ donation can "bring comfort" to families who have experienced a death, a survey suggests.

A new study by the Organ and Tissue Authority found 94 per cent of 132 donor families surveyed said the donation process provided them with comfort in their loss of a loved one.

Organ donation has risen over the past five years by 58 per cent, with the aid of a $151 million national reform package.

The Australian donation rate was 16.9 donors per million people in 2013 and the country is aiming to achieve 25 donors per million by 2018.

Spain has the highest organ donation rate in the world: 35.1 donors per million. The Spanish use an opt-out system, meaning organ donation will occur automatically unless a specific request is made before death for organs not to be taken.

Australia, like Germany, the United States and Canada uses an opt-in system where people need to actively register if they wish to donate organs.

In 2013, 1122 Australians received an organ transplant from 391 donors, according to the Organ and Tissue Authority.

Unfortunately, about 1500 people are on Australian organ transplant waiting lists at any one time.

A new UK study published in BMC Medicine analysed the organ donation protocols of 48 countries, including Australia.

A team of researchers studied 23 countries that use opt-in systems and 25 that use opt-out.

Professor Eamonn Ferguson, lead author from the University of Nottingham, said policy decisions about consent for organ donation are based on limited evidence.

"To fill this gap we investigated the difference between deceased and living organ donation rates in opt-in and opt-out consent systems," she wrote.

The researchers concluded that countries using opt-out systems had higher total numbers of kidneys donated - the organ that the majority of people on organ transplant lists are waiting for.

DonateLife SA state medical director, Dr Sally Tideman, described the study as interesting, but limited.

"Of course we need organ and tissue donors but we need to respect the rights of Australians to make informed decisions," she said.

"By having an opt-in model it means people need to be informed as they actually sign on to be a donor.

"It's very ethical and transparent and we know it suits the Australian culture about having a say."

Dr Tideman is urging families to discuss and know the donation decisions of each other.

"This is important because the family will always be asked to confirm the donation decision of their loved one before donation for transplantation can proceed," she said.